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Report: Brandon Guyer Promoted

Per Steve Wiseman on Twitter (with an assist to Mark from The Ray Area), Guyer has informed him that he will join the big league club for the series in Baltimore.

This all but ensures the Rays will place Jeff Niemann on the disabled list and ostensibly roll with 11 pitchers, which hey, yay! Although, it may also hint that a B.J. Upton suspension is coming, which hey, boo. In a little over 100 Triple-A plate appearances this season, Guyer is hitting .370/.427/.630 with six home runs and two stolen bases in four tries. Here’s what Chaim Bloom said about Guyer earlier this year:

We plan to get Brandon time at all three outfield positions—he absolutely has the foot speed to play center. His profile is very intriguing in that he’s shown that he can impact all aspects of the game. He’s an asset defensively; he runs really well and is a great base stealer; he makes a lot of contact, and he also has the size and strength to hit the ball out of the ballpark. Players like that can help you win in many different ways.

And here’s what I wrote after the Rays acquired Guyer in the Garza trade:

Moving on to Brandon Guyer and summoning my inner Jon Gruden. This is a guy that you could see break into the outfield during this season as well. Especially if B.J. Upton gets traded. He turns 25 in a few weeks and hits from the right side. The 2010 season was something of a breakout year for Guyer, who hit .344/.398/.588 in Double-A. I believe it was also Callis who suggested that stat guys would like him more than scouts, but both BA and Goldstein have Guyer within the Cubs top 12.

The knock on Guyer is about his athleticism and power. Not that he doesn’t have good athleticism for a corner outfielder, he does, but that he doesn’t have enough to play center field. That within itself isn’t too big of blemish on his profile, but his power also doesn’t profile like a corner outfielder. Essentially, he’s a corner outfielder stuck in a center fielder’s body. BRyan Smith (Cubs fan, smart person, and prospects analyst) suggested that Guyer is the typical tweener who profiles as a fourth outfielder type. If you squint, you can see a Matt Joyce-Brandon Guyer or Fuld/Guyer platoon in the not too distant future.